Itchy skin can be defined as irritating and uncomfortable skin condition that causes itching that cannot be controlled. There are number of reasons that cause itchy skin. In medical terms, it is called Pruritus and itchy skin can be indicative of internal disease also. Itchy skin is always seen with dryness, rough skin, with bumps lesions or blisters. Unless your doctor identifies the correct cause for itchy skin, it may recur again or stay with you for prolonged time.
Symptoms
Itchy skin can occur in any part of your body like arms, legs, hands, scalp and face. Sometimes, there may not be any symptoms except itching and dryness on the skin. For some people, itchy skin is accompanied with redness, cracked skin, blisters or bumps on several places and scaly texture on the surface of the affected area.
Similarly, the intensity of itchiness may vary from one person to other. If you rub more on the area, it may cause more itching. Treating this condition of itchy skin is really challenging. You may not be able to carry out daily activities and for some people it may disturb their sleeping pattern.
Causes Of Itchy Skin
Dry skin or xerosis is the main cause for itchy skin. Dryness can be caused by environmental factors like climate, exposure to sunlight or low humidity climate, staying too long on air conditioned room, or using water frequently. Dry skin can occur due to overdose of medicines, internal diseases and allergic reactions. Sometimes, certain skin diseases like eczema, psoriasis, lice and chickenpox may produce itchy skin. But for these diseases, other symptoms are present.